Grouptest - Winter Mountain Bike Gloves: Part 1
20 November 2012 | By AngusMcIntoshFreezing hands ruin bike rides, That's a fact. But alas some of your favourite brands listened to our cries and developed gloves that are finally specific to when the weather turns cold. We think a winter glove is the kind that will keep your hands warm when its bitterly cold and dry when its tipping it down!
For each glove we have taken into account features that matter to you, out in the real world, on the trails as a rider. Attributes such as comfort, warmth, waterproofness, grip when wet, snot wipe ability, style and design to come to a well rounded verdict and give our honest opinion on your best options of gloves when it comes winter.
Part 1 of our test looks at winter specific gloves from Royal Racing, Fox, One Industries, 661 and Sombrio which are aimed more at the lightweight end of the scale with the heavyweight options from Seal Skinz, Answer and Endura coming up in part 2 tommorow.
Royal Racing Mercury Glove
First up we have the Royal Racing Mercury glove which is a mid cut glove that is constructed from a lightweight, breathable and most importantly showerproof Clarino man made leather, with an essential micro fibre thumb snot wiper for those winter sniffles.
The gloves are both lightweight and thin in an attempt to keep the maximum feel on the bar possible through the grips and on brake levers but still keep your hands dry. They feature a strong velcro tab to fasten them that still performs well in the wet.
The styling on the Mercury gloves is a real standout point especially when nearly all the gloves we have on test here are black. We like that Royal have acknowledged that people still want to look good out on the trails at the same time as keeping their hands dry! The styling details are only simple but makes all the difference when you need to stand out alongside competitors.
Out riding in the Mercury gloves they feel more like your wearing a normal "summer" glove and not like they are going to be water resistant. This is a good thing, but they lack any kind of thermal protection against the elements. If it was a cold and windy day your hands would start to feel it through the clarino fabric after a while. If it was a wet summer or autumn day these would be a great choice and as an extra bonus, they are a top performer in the snot wiping stakes!
A great option for the more style conscious winter glove user but not a top performer in sub zero temperatures.
£29.99 distributed in the UK by Decade distribution
Sombrio Shinny Gloves
The Sombrio Shinny gloves are a high cut glove that's constructed from a Poly-Urethane coated micro polar fleece, giving them an exceptional wind resistant performance. They feature Maxkin leather on the palms and inside of the thumb for improved grip on the bar but feature no dedicated snot wiping facility.
The velcro fastener at the top of the gloves offer a really good solution with a large contact arrea of velcro meaning they stay in the right place.
We would describe the styling of these gloves as minimal. There's no bright colours anywhere to be seen and small simple logos. We really like the use of the silicon sombrio logos to give added grip on the brake levers in the rain.
On the bike, the Shinny gloves feel great and still maintain a good feel on the bar and more importantly the brake levers. The silicon Sombrio logos on the fingers look great but didn't really seem to have any effect in terms of grip on the levers but the reduced bulk aids feel on the levers through the gloves so I was always happy that I knew where the brakes were.
Almost the perfect UK winter glove. Both water resistant and warm all at a bargain price!
£21.99 distributed by Hotlines
One Industries Atmosphere gloves
The One industries Atmosphere gloves are taken from One industries first attempt at mountain bike specific kit.
They feature a waterproof softshell construction on the top portion and a pittards digital leather palm thats also seen on the Fox and 661 gloves but it takes on a more traditional leather look opposed to the synthetic bobbles seen on the other aforementioned gloves.
The Atmosphere gloves feature a low cut design more like a summer glove and have a very fitted style which is refreshing to feel in a winter glove. They feel like they would be the perfect option for those wet autumn and spring rides but probably not the best option for the freezing wet winter nights as theres no real thermal protection.
Riding in the Atmosphere glove, the Pittards leather palm will blow you away for traction on the bar even in the wettest of conditions. It doesn't have any pressure relief patches or bits of leather added on for "extra grip" yet they won't leave you with sore hands after a day riding in them. In the style department they look pretty good, if not a little on the simple side and they perform surprisingly well when wiping up the bogeys.
One of the grippiest gloves on show especially when it gets really wet. Simplicity and comfort make it a great first offering from One Industries bike range if not on the slightly expensive side.
The Atmosphere Glove are distributed by One Industries Europe and have an RRP of £39.99
Six Six One Storm Gloves
The Six Six One Storm Gloves aren't strictly waterproof, more of a weather resistant option so the Storm gloves don't really feel like the other gloves on the test. They are designed to be warm when wet opposed to just a straight out waterproof but that said, they will take a good shower before the rain starts to come through.
The Pittards digital leather palm has a canny knack of just getting more and more grippy and performing even better in the rain making it the perfect option when designing and building a winter glove. We don't know why it isn't used in more of the other brands!
They are quite a low-cut design on the wrist with a velcro attachment for security and you can guarantee as with most 661 kit, it will last for a long time and still be looking as good as new a fair a few rides down the line!
Out riding in these gloves I was blown away with the level of grip you get from the leather in the palm and on your brake levers it's as close as we came to summer glove riding as we came throughout the entire test. I found them very warm and almost a little sweaty during my autumn test rides making me think they may be aimed at the really cold and night rides end of the market.
Grippy, very warm and great looking with a competitive price point make these a solid performer.
The Storm Gloves are distributed by One Industries Europe and have an RRP of £33.99
Fox Antifreeze Gloves
The Fox Antifreeze gloves are the only gloves we had on test that had a dedicated removable liner inside to give them almost a 100% waterproof seal. Because of this the sizing feels slightly on the small side but considering the ratio of how little bulk there is to how waterproof they are maybe a liner is the way to go?
The antifreeze palm is made from one big slice of Pittards digital leather. The leather has a pretty amazing function whereby the it actually offers more grip when it starts to get wet. It doesn't have any additional patches or pads to reduce pressure but consequently you do end up with a more waterproof and comfortable glove with no seams that will leak or rub your hands.
The cuff on the antifreeze comes really high up on the wrist to offer great protection from the cold but still has a velcro attachment low down more like a summer glove which is almost the perfect solution for comfort against functionality.
These gloves are one of a small selection that when the manufactures sat down around a table to design them, styling was actually on the radar! Its only a simple pattern on the rear of the palm almost like contour lines on a map, but it makes a real change from all the other black gloves available.
Riding in the Antifreeze gloves from Fox you will find the palm gives incredible grip especially when wet and feels comfortable on the bar. The glove is however incredibly waterproof as essentially it's a rubber glove inside a water resistant shell but that does mean they come in slightly on the small side size wise and they aren't the most breathable by any means. They don't feel overly clunky and they grip well on wet brake levers but that said you do lose a fair amount of feedback through the levers when your wearing them.
One of the coolest looking winter gloves on show and an internal waterproof liner makes it a favourite of ours but they are a touch on the small side.
The Fox Anti Freeze gloves are distributed by Fox Head Europe and have an RRP of £40
Stay tuned for Part 2 and the Conclusions to our Winter Glove Test tomorrow!
